Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

New Technology Could Predict Teen Driver's Risk for a Crash

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.

A new video game technology that exposes drivers to the most common serious crash scenarios and sees how they react may help predict what type of driver a teen will be. It can also highlight any potential problems, a new study suggests.

"Not only is the virtual driving assessment a great resource for young drivers to get feedback on their driving going beyond just pass or fail results, but it can also be a helpful resource for parents to determine if their child is ready to drive safely [and] know what types of driving skills they should focus on when taking their teens out to practice," said study author Elizabeth Walshe. She's a research scientist and leader of the Neuroscience of Driving Program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Center for Injury Research and Prevention.

The new video technology is called Ready Assess by Diagnostic Driving, Inc.

The virtual driving assessment is a fully immersive 15-minute, self-guided simulated drive that measures a person's ability to drive safely and avoid crashes. Drivers use a steering wheel, pedals and headphones while following the course on a computer screen. It measures more than 100 skills, including vehicle control, lane position, proximity to other vehicles, ability to negotiate curves and intersections, as well as responses to unexpected hazards.

At the end of the game, drivers receive a personalized report that identifies specific skill deficits and provides tips on how to improve driving skills.

For the study, published online in the journal Pediatrics, almost 17,000 Ohio drivers under 25 took the virtual driving assessment during the licensing process, and some clear patterns emerged.

Drivers who had "major issues with dangerous behavior" had a crash risk that was 11% higher than average in their first year with a license.

Those who got their license at age 18 were 16% more likely to crash based on their performance on the video game, the study showed. Drivers who performed well on the video game had a crash risk that was about 10% lower than the average risk, the study showed.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/teen-driving-2665878425.html

Parental Pressures Are Taking the Fun Out of Children's Play

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by ScienceDaily.

Modern-day parenting pressures and expectations are leading to the death knell for children enjoying spontaneous play, according to a new study from the University of Essex.

While parents have always felt some responsibility for their children's development, the heightened intensity of parenting in recent years now means parents are expected to spend more time exhaustively watching, noticing, and responding to their children's desires and behaviors.

This, the research suggests, is leaving less time for children to play independently, where they learn for themselves the risks and dangers of outdoor play.

According to the study published in the journal Sociology of Health & Illness, parents are worried this lack of spontaneous play means their children are not as developed and well-rounded as they could be, coupled with the fact children's play is increasingly more sedentary due to technology.

"Until around the 1990s, parents were not expected to endlessly entertain and monitor their children in the same way they are today, so children had greater freedom to play independently," explained the study's author Dr John Day. "But since those children have become parents themselves, society has changed, so there is a heightened feeling of responsibility for their children's development."

This generational shift was noticed by Dr Day, from Essex's School of Health and Social Care, when conducting in-depth interviews with 28 UK residents born between 1950 and 1994 about their physical activity history and how family members influenced these experiences.

The research found that the rise in structured physical activity for children happened at the same time as, and possibly caused, a decline in children playing spontaneously.

"Society today positions parents as the sole engineers in their children's development which represents an unrealistic burden that brings with it unjust pressure and expectation," added Dr Day.

To help address this trend, Dr Day says there needs to be a culture shift where health policymakers ensure children are encouraged to learn about the risks of physically active play, independent of adult supervision.

Source: ScienceDaily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/08/230815131826.htm

What's Hot? 10/13/23

Trending Today on Twitter - 10/13/23
 1. Friday the 13th
2. #Friday13th
3. Hannity
4. #fridaymorning
5. FRYE
6. #FridayFeeling
7. #FridayVibes
8. Day of Rage
9. Activision Blizzard
10. Good Friday
Source: Twitter

Trending Today on Google - 10/13/23
 1. Chiefs
2. Broncos vs Chiefs
3. Logan Paul
4. The Fall of the House of Usher
5. Friday the 13th
6. Bryce Harper
7. Russell Wilson
8. Rudolph Isley
9. Social Security COLA 2024
10. Brazil vs Venezuela
Source: Google

Top Five on Apple Music - 10/13/23
 1. IDGAF (feat. Yeat) - Drake
2. First Person Shooter (feat. J. Cole) - Drake
3. Virginia Beach - Drake
4. Calling For You (feat. 21 Savage) - Drake
5. Rich Baby Daddy (feat. Sexyy Red & SZA) - Drake
Source: Apple Music

Top Box Office Movies - Weekend of 10/6/23
1. The Exorcist: Believer
2. PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie
3. Saw X
4. The Creator
5. The Blind
Source: Showtimes.com 

TV Shows Trending on Streaming Services - 10/13/23
 1. Gen V - Prime Video
2. Yellowstone - Peacock
3. The Fall of the House of Usher - Netflix
4. Loki (2021) - Disney+
5. The Continental: From the World of John Wick - Peacock
Source: Reelgood

Trending Today on YouTube - 10/13/23
 1. BAD BUNNY - NADI SABE
2. BAD BUNNY - MONACO
3. Dragon Ball DAIMA Teaser Trailer
4. BAD BUNNY - TELEFONO NUEVO
5. TXT - Chasing That Feeling
Source: YouTube

Netflix Top 5 TV Shows in the U.S. Today - 10/13/23
 1. Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul
2. Beckham
3. Lupin
4. Love is Blind
5. The Great British Bake Off
Source: FlixPatrol

School Cycling Program Linked to Improved Mental Well-Being in Adolescents

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by News Medical.

Physical activity has positive effects on mental health and yet, activity rates are declining. This is particularly worrying because the mental well-being of teenagers continues to deteriorate. In the US, one in six school children is diagnosed with some type of mental disorder.

Riding bikes is a promising approach to introduce school-aged children to physical activity. Now, researchers in the US have investigated how adolescents’ psychosocial well-being changed after participating in a school-based cycling program.

“Participation in a school cycling education program during the Covid-19 pandemic was associated with improved psychosocial well-being amongst middle schoolers in the US,” said Dr Esther Walker, research director at the non-profit organization Outride. “While we saw promising increases in some student subgroups, certain groups had higher levels of self-reported mental well-being both before and after participating in the program.”

"It was really encouraging to see such a positive student response to a cycling-specific physical education program," said Fletcher Dementyev, a research assistant at Loma Linda University and first author of the study published in Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. “This motivates us, and hopefully others, to continue investigating and developing cycling as a pathway to improved health and well-being in adolescents.”

More than 1,200 middle schoolers, aged 11 to 14 years, participated in the program’s surveys. Before and after cycling, they completed two surveys that included measures of current mental well-being and psychological functioning. Given the improvement in teenagers’ mental well-being scores, short term physical activity programs hold promise of having a positive influence on mental health and well-being in adolescents, the team said.

Source: News Medical
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20231012/School-cycling-program-linked-to-improved-mental-well-being-in-adolescents.aspx

Kids Who Are Close to Their Parents Become Kinder, More Helpful Adults

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by StudyFinds.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have found that kids who reported having a loving, strong bond with their parents around age three tended to be more kind, empathetic, and generous by adolescence.

In other words, researchers say parents should do their best to cultivate a meaningful, close relationship with their children as early as possible during their lives together. While the notion that fun times spent with mom or dad at age two or three could lead to more kind, prosocial behaviors years later may seem farfetched at first, researchers explain that parent-child relationships and closeness are incredibly important to an adolescent’s development. That process begins pretty much as soon as the family’s new addition comes home from the hospital. It’s never too early to start spreading the love in your household.

The research team analyzed a massive dataset encompassing over 10,000 people born between 2000 and 2002.

Study authors eventually concluded people who experienced warm and loving relationships with their parents at age three not only tended to have fewer mental health problems during early childhood and adolescence but also exhibited better prosocial tendencies, which refers to socially desirable behaviors that help others (kindness, generosity, empathy, volunteering, helpfulness).

While the noted correlation between parent-child relationships and later prosociality must be validated by additional research projects, this work certainly suggests a compelling and sizable association is at play here. On average, researchers say that for every standard unit above “normal” levels that a child’s closeness with their parents was higher around age three, their prosociality was higher by 0.24 of a standard unit by the time adolescence set in.

The project was undertaken and led by Ioannis Katsantonis and Dr. Ros McLellan, both from the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge.

In conclusion, the study authors say this work highlights the importance of parents building a strong loving relationship with their kids as early as possible.

Source: StudyFinds
https://studyfinds.org/close-to-parents-kinder-adults/

Suicide Risk Nearly Doubled Among Teenagers Who Suffer Sleep Deprivation

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by PsyPost.

In a new study published in BMC Psychiatry, researchers have uncovered a concerning link between sleep duration and suicidal thoughts among American teenagers. The study, which analyzed data from over a hundred thousand adolescents, reveals that inadequate sleep may significantly increase the risk of experiencing suicidal ideation and behavior among young people.

The study sought to understand whether sleep could be a significant risk factor for suicidal behaviors and whether this relationship varied across racial and ethnic groups.

The research utilized data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), a series of surveys conducted in U.S. high schools every two years. The YRBSS surveys include representative samples of high school students, providing valuable insights into adolescent health. For this study, data collected from 2007 to 2019, involving 103,525 adolescents, were analyzed.

The study measured four critical outcome variables related to suicide: suicide attempt, suicidal ideation (thoughts/fantasies), suicide plan, and injurious suicide attempt. Adolescents’ sleep duration was categorized into two groups: those with less than 8 hours of sleep per night (short sleep) and those with 8 or more hours of sleep (long sleep), in accordance with sleep health recommendations.

The researchers found that, across all racial groups, suicide ideation and behavior increased from 2007 to 2019. After adjusting for various covariates, the researchers observed a substantial association between short sleep duration and suicidal ideation/behavior. Adolescents with less than 8 hours of sleep had nearly twice the odds of experiencing suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, plans, or injurious suicide attempts compared to those with 8 or more hours of sleep.

Source: PsyPost
https://www.psypost.org/2023/10/suicide-risk-nearly-doubled-among-teenagers-who-suffer-sleep-deprivation-study-finds-213905

Shy Teens with Shy Best Friends Might Be More Prone to Depression

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by PsyPost.

A study examining best-friend pairs of young adolescents discovered that shy individuals, especially those whose best friend was also shy, exhibited more depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the research revealed that self-silencing acts as a mediator between shyness and symptoms of anxiety. The findings were published in Personality and Individual Differences.

Shyness is a personality trait characterized by feelings of apprehension, discomfort, or nervousness in social situations or when interacting with unfamiliar people. Individuals who are shy often experience heightened self-consciousness and may have difficulty initiating or maintaining conversations. During childhood and adolescence, shyness is one of the most important components of indicators of psychopathology (such as depressive or anxiety symptoms or loneliness).

Participants of the study were 178 adolescents organized into 89 same-sex bestfriend pairs. They were 14 years old on average. Participants completed assessments of shyness (the Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale), self-silencing (the Expressing My Thoughts and Feelings Measure), loneliness (the Loneliness and Social Dissatisfaction Questionnaire), depressive symptoms and anxiety (descriptive items e.g., “I cry a lot” or “I am nervous or tense”), and friend support (the Network of Relationships Inventory).

The results indicated that shy participants were more inclined to self-silence, felt lonelier, and reported increased depressive and anxiety symptoms. There was no discernible link between perceived friend support and shyness. Those who often self-silenced felt more isolated and perceived diminished friend support.

“Findings suggest that friend shyness may foster depressive symptoms in highly shy youth, and that the tendency for shy youth, and to some extent, their friends, to self-silence may hurt the relationship, but help the self (at least in the short-term and in terms of anxiety),” the study authors concluded.

Source: PsyPost
https://www.psypost.org/2023/10/shy-teens-with-shy-best-friends-might-be-more-prone-to-depression-study-finds-213872

What's Hot? 10/06/23

Trending Today on Twitter - 10/6/23
 1. Drake
2. Hillary Clinton
3. #NationalCoachesDay
4. #fridaymorning
5. Rich Baby Daddy
6. Drew a Picasso
7. #FridayFeeling
8. Adonis
9. #FridayVibes
10. Drizzy
Source: Twitter

Trending Today on Google - 10/6/23
 1. Powerball
2. Chicago Bears
3. Bears
4. Justin Fields
5. Europa League
6. Savannah Bananas
7. Loki Season 2
8. Drake
9. Liverpool
10. Deshaun Watson
Source: Google

Top Five on Apple Music - 10/6/23
 1. Slime You Out (feat. SZA) - Drake
2. Great Gatsby - Rod Wave
3. I Remember Everything (feat. Kacy Musgraves) - Zach Bryan
4. Paint The Town Red - Doja Cat
5. Turks & Caicos (feat. 21 Savage) - Rod Wave
Source: Apple Music

Top Box Office Movies - Weekend of 9/29/23
1. PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie
2. Saw X
3. The Creator
4. The Nun II
5. The Blind
Source: Showtimes.com 

TV Shows Trending on Streaming Services - 10/6/23
 1. Gen V - Prime Video
2. Yellowstone - Peacock
3. The Continental: From the World of John Wick - Peacock
4. The Golden Bachelor - Hulu
5. Rose Red - Hulu
Source: Reelgood

Trending Today on YouTube - 10/6/23
 1. Minecraft Live 2023: Vote for the penguin!
2. JENNIE - 'You & Me' Dance Performance Video
3. blink-182 - DANCE WITH ME
4. Welcome to the RATED R ERA! Adam Copeland arrives on Dynamite!
5. 'I Want That' Official Music Video
Source: YouTube

Netflix Top 5 TV Shows in the U.S. Today - 10/6/23
 1. Beckham
2. Love is Blind
3. The Great British Bake Off
4. Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal
5. Encounters
Source: FlixPatrol

Eating Disorders Increased During Pandemic in Female Adolescents

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MSN.

The biggest jump in Ontario (Canada) emergency room (ER) visits and hospitalizations for eating disorders during the first 30 months of the pandemic was seen in adolescents aged 10 to 17, according to a new study.

Using health data from two periods, before and during the pandemic, researchers calculated and compared the expected and observed rates of eating disorder-related hospital visits for various age groups.

They found that the rate of ER visits in the 10-to-17 age group was 7.38 per 100,000 in the latter period, up 121 percent over the expected rate of 3.33, based on pre-pandemic trends.

Hospital admissions for eating disorders also rose among adolescents by 54 percent but dropped for all adult age groups.

Lead author Dr. Alene Toulany, a pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, said 90 percent of the adolescents in the study period after the onset of COVID-19 were female.

Source: MSN
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/health/other/adolescent-er-visits-for-eating-disorders-saw-big-jump-during-pandemic-ont-study/ar-AA1hC7Zh

Social Misfit or Normal Development? Students Who Do Not Date

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by the Journal of School Health.

OBJECTIVE

Prior research identified 4 distinct dating trajectories from 6th to 12th grade: Low, Increasing, High Middle, and Frequent. The purpose of this study was to examine whether 10th graders in the Low dating group differed in emotional, interpersonal, and adaptive skills from youth in the other trajectories.

METHODS

The sample consisted of 594 10th graders. Four dating groups were compared using teacher ratings (social skills, leadership, depression) and student self-reports (positive relationships with friends, at home, and at school; depression, suicidal ideation).

RESULTS

Students in the Low dating group had significantly higher teacher ratings of social skills and leadership and lower ratings of depression compared to the other groups. Self-reports of positive relationships did not differ by dating groups. Self-reported depression was significantly lower in the Low dating group, but suicidal ideations did not differ.

CONCLUSION

Adolescents who were not in a romantic relationship had good social skills and low depression and fared better or equal to peers who dated. These results refute the notion that non-daters are maladjusted. Health promotion interventions in schools should include non-dating as one option for healthy development.

Source: Journal of School Health
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/josh.12818